COASTAL STORM DAMAGE REDUCTION PROJECT

The Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project for Ocean Isle Beach is now underway. The Corps of Engineers awarded this project to Weeks Marine, who began mobilizing on Ocean Isle Beach on March 19, 2018 and expects to begin pumping sand on Friday, March 22, 2018. This project will begin in the vicinity of Shallotte Blvd and run westward to approximately Sanford Street. It is estimated that 330,000 cubic yards of sand will be placed on the beach as part of this project. The total cost of the project is $3.8 million dollars and is being cost shared by the Federal Government (65%) and State and Local Funds (35%).This will be a 24-hour operation, so residents should expect to hear loud noises while the dredge and other equipment is in operation. For your personal safety and that of the contractors, please DO NOT enter the construction site which is indicated by orange fencing. The project is on schedule for a completion date of April 30, 2018.

TERMINAL GROIN PROJECT

On August 28, 2017, the National Audubon Society filed a lawsuit with the Eastern Division of the US District Court of North Carolina, against the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Town of Ocean Isle Beach. This lawsuit challenges the Corps of Engineers approval of a permit that authorized the Town to build the Terminal Groin. Therefore, the Terminal Groin will not proceed Fall 2018 as expected. The Town has retained the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend and Stockton to defend the Town during this litigation. Litigation in the matter is ongoing.

2017 ANNUAL BEACH MONITORING ANALYSIS

In 2017, the Town hired APTIM Coastal Planning and Engineering to prepare an annual Beach Monitoring Report and Analysis based on the Beach Surveys the Town had been performing since 2012. The purpose of this study was to provide an assessment of the current conditions of a portion of the Town’s shoreline and to identify erosion and accretion trends over time. To do so, APTIM examined both short-term and long-term changes over time within the areas where these surveys had been performed. Short-term changes were derived from a comparison between the 2017 beach profile data and data collected in 2016. Long-term change rates were computed through a comparison between the 2017 data with the 2012 data.

30 YEAR BEACH MANAGEMENT PLAN ADOPTED APRIL 2015

During the April 14, 2015 Board Meeting, the Board of Commissioners adopted the Ocean Isle Beach 30-Year Beach Management Plan. The management area will consist of the beach strand from the location of the proposed terminal groin project, located on the east end of the island, to the east shoulder of Tubbs Inlet, a total distance of 5.1 miles.

Components of the study include an engineering analysis of the existing federal project, a sand resource assessment , and an assessment of the environmental documentation and permitting requirements that would be necessary for the Town to manage its entire ocean front shoreline.